US and Israel in talks to send Patriot systems to Ukraine — report
White House working to convince Netanyahu that Russia’s closeness with Iran justifies risk of fallout, FT reports, as Western countries make push for Ukrainian air defense
The United States, Israel and Ukraine are in talks to provide Kyiv with up to eight Patriot missile air defense systems currently owned and used by Israel, the Financial Times reported on Thursday, citing several unnamed sources familiar with the discussions.
The missile batteries would likely be transferred from Israel to the US, and only then from the US to Ukraine, according to the report.
The American and Ukrainian governments declined to comment on the report, and the Prime Minister’s Office in Israel referred questions to the Defense Ministry, which did not respond.
In April, Israel announced that it planned to phase out the Patriot batteries currently being discussed, which have been used in the ongoing war against Hamas, and amid missile and drone attacks from Hezbollah and other Iranian proxies, and to replace them with newer systems.
Israel primarily relies on its Iron Dome system for short-range interceptions, as well as on the medium-range David’s Sling and its Arrow missiles for long-range interceptions.
Ukraine has expressed support for Israel in its war against Hamas, while also repeatedly requesting that Israel provide it with air defense systems — requests that Israel has so far rejected.
Though Israel has expressed support for Ukraine since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of the country in 2022, it has been careful not to alienate Russia, which controls much of Syrian airspace and currently allows Israel to operate there against Iranian proxy groups.
The war in Ukraine has driven the Russian government closer to Iran, however, and US officials have reportedly sought to convince Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the countries’ newfound closeness should motivate Israel to be more bold in supporting Ukraine’s war effort.
The White House announced last week that it would reprioritize deliveries of newly manufactured Patriot missiles, diverting new exports to Ukraine from the other countries previously set to receive them.
The White House did not say which countries would be affected by the diversions, but noted that they would not apply to Israel or Taiwan.
Earlier this month, on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Italy, US President Joe Biden said that five countries had agreed to supply air defense systems to Ukraine, as Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced a ten-year defense pact.
Despite the talks, Israel’s Patriot systems currently remain in operation, FT noted, amid concerns that ongoing fighting with the Iranian-backed terror group Hezbollah in Lebanon could escalate to a full-scale war.
Hezbollah, which has an estimated 150,000 rockets it could use against Israel, has been attacking Israeli communities and military posts along the border on a near-daily basis since Hamas’s October 7 attack last year, when thousands of terrorists invaded southern Israel from the Gaza Strip, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, initiating the ongoing war there.
Israel has said repeatedly that it would like a diplomatic solution to the current conflict with Hezbollah, but that it is willing to go to war if necessary in order to allow for the safe return home of tens of thousands of Israelis displaced by the ongoing fighting.
